City Council - Finance Committee

CHICOPEE CITY COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS John Vieau, Chairman Shane Brooks, Vice Chairman Fred Krampits Frank Laflamme James Tillotson William Zaskey Approved MINUTES January 11, 2017 The following are the minutes of a public hearing held Wednesday, January 11, 2017 at 6:30 PM in the City Council Chambers, Fourth Floor, City Hall Annex, 274 Front Street, Chicopee, MA 01013. Members Present Vieau, Brooks (arrived 6:40 PM), Krampits, Laflamme, Tillotson, Zaskey Absent Also Present Daniel Garvey (Associate City Solicitor), Elizabeth Soja (DPW Assistant), Carolyn Porter (Parks Superintendent), Councilor Zygarowski, Councilor Walczak, Councilor Courchesne, Steve Fredericks (City Engineer), Tom Trznadel (Working Foreman Parks Dept.) Tom Bresnahan (Park Commissioner) The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM In compliance with the Open Meeting Law the Chairman asked if anyone in the audience was recording the meeting. ITEM #1 $112,500.00 be and hereby is appropriated to the following named account: DPW Parks Special Account for Purchase of a 6-yard refuse packer Said amount is to be taken from available in the undesignated fund balance “Free Cash” account. Carolyn Porter gave the Councilors an explanation of how the toters will work. Carolyn Porter stated that currently we dump at the landfill, once the landfill closes we won’t have to drive out of the city as many times as we are currently driving and we can save time not having to leave the City two or three times a day. It’s an efficiency issue. Councilor Tillotson stated he wants to see toters in the Parks and a recycling program. Carolyn Porter stated that in a public environment I can’t control that people through their trash into the 1 recycling. We could add recycling containers to our existing parks. If it’s less than twenty percent recyclable materials it’s trash and it’s contaminated, that puts us at risk for being sighted and potentially fined. Parks are hard because they are public spaces and it’s hard to control where people throw their trash. Councilor Tilloston stated some people don’t follow the rules but it’s an education process. If we don’t start sometime it will never happen. If we reduce the trash and increase the recycling, the City’s going to save money. Councilor Vieau stated that he wants to know what the difference will be with the new trash truck. Tom Trznadel stated that we now take four trips a day to the dump twice per week with two employees. With the new truck it will take fewer trips to the dump especially if we have to haul out of the city. Councilor Krampits suggested to rent one for a year to see if we implement it, will it work out in the Parks. If it does then we can buy one. Carolyn Porter agreed Councilor Walczak stated the key issue here is to educate the public. We’ve got youth teams, Adult teams and a number of people that use the parks; that’s our first order let them know the process of recycling. On the motion to return to the Mayor for a possible lease agreement and/for research into compatibility of Barrels and toters with the truck - motion passed by a roll call vote. Vieau yes Brooks yes Krampits yes Laflamme yes McLellan yes Tillotson yes Zaskey yes Councilor Tillotson motion to approve – Councilor Vieau 2nd the motion – motion passed Committee vote favorable 7 – 0 ITEM #2 $70,000.00 be and hereby is appropriated to the following named account: DPW Highway Special Account for Pavement Management System Said amount is to be taken from available funds in the undesignated fund balance “Free Cash” account and will be reimbursed 100% from the City’s available Chapter 90 allotment. Steve Frederick stated that basically it’s a different approach, it’s a data driven program where audits are done on roads. A score is given to the road based on its condition. It’s a functional classification of the roads. It’s either done manually or automated. Other communities do this. We do have limited resource and we’re trying to manage them as effectively as possible. He stated it also can be a tool for the City Council and the Mayor as you approve money for the budget. This is reimbursable. Councilor Laflamme stated I’m not sold on this. If this report is good for five years, what if a street is heaved over with pot holes in one winter in my ward. I’m going to fight for that street to be repaired verses your report. Councilor Tillotson stated if I can visually name all the streets that need repair and are torn up with holes, why do you need to spend seventy thousand dollars. 2 Steve Fredericks stated I wanted to propose this and bring you as much information as I could so you can make an informed decision. Councilor Brooks stated you’re doing the prep for some of the road construction yourself so we are not paying companies such as Tighe and Bond. Steve Fredericks stated yes we have certain things we can do in-house to save money. Councilor Krampits stated I look at this as a tool to sometimes help reinforce on why a particular road should be done because if you know what’s going on underneath it, you will know how much it will take to rebuilt it. Councilor Courchesne stated that I want to tell the residents based on fact from the data. If Steve didn’t think this was needed for the city and in the best interest, he would not have brought it forward. Councilor Laflamme motion to approve – Councilor Vieau 2nd the motion – motion passed Committee vote favorable 3 unfavorable 4 Brooks Vieau Krampits Zaskey McLellan Laflamme Tillotson ITEM #3 Minutes May 11, 2016 Councilor Laflamme motion to approve the minutes from May 11, 2016 - Councilor Vieau 2nd the motion – motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 8:18 PM. 3